Mary Klicka

Mary Klicka
A smiling middle-aged white woman with coiffed hair
Mary V. Klicka, from a 1972 publication of the United States federal government
Born
Mary Victoria Richardson

(1921-04-30)April 30, 1921
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
DiedAugust 26, 2007(2007-08-26) (aged 86)
Waterbury, Connecticut, U.S.
Occupation(s)Dietitian, food technologist
Known forDistinguished Civilian Service Award (1970)

Mary Victoria Richardson Klicka (April 30, 1921 – August 26, 2007) was a Canadian-American registered dietitian and food technologist for the United States Army. She designed MREs and provisions for astronauts in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. In 1970, she received the Distinguished Civilian Service Award from the Department of Defense.

Early life and education

Mary Victoria Richardson was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the daughter of William Henry Richardson and Clara Myrtle Ferguson Richardson. Her father, a civil engineer, was from England, and her mother was born in North Dakota; the family moved to Kelso, Washington when she was a girl.[1] She earned a bachelor's degree in dietetics from the University of Washington in 1944, and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Chicago in 1947.[2][3][4]

Career

Klicka served an internship at Michael Reese Hospital. She was a food technologist working for the United States Army beginning in 1951.[3][5] She designed rations and their packaging for special contexts, including MREs[6] and food for the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo manned space missions,[7] at the Army's Food Engineering Laboratory in Natick, Massachusetts.[8][9] In 1958, she was assigned to the United Nations to work on rations issues of the UN's Emergency Force in Gaza.[10] Her research was published in Aerospace Medicine, Military Medicine, Journal of Food Science, Life Sciences and Space Research, Cereal Science Today, School Lunch Journal,[11] and Journal of the American Dietetic Association.[12]

In 1966 Klicka was decorated for Meritorious Civilian Service. In 1968 she was decorated for Exceptional Civilian Service.[2][10] In 1969 she received the Woman of Achievement Award from the Massachusetts Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs.[13] In 1970, she received the Distinguished Civilian Service Award from the Department of Defense.[3] She was nominated twice for the Federal Woman's Award, in 1965 and 1968. In 1996, she was inducted into the Army Soldier Systems Command Hall of Fame. She was a member of the American Dietetic Association, the National Council on Aging, and the Institute of Food Technologists.[10]

Selected publications and reports by Klicka

  • "Effects of Reduced Fat Intake on Serum Lipids in Healthy Young Men and Women at the U.S. Military Academy" (1995, with Karl E. Friedl, Nancy King, Louis J. Marchitelli, and Eldon Wayne Askew)[14]
  • "Effects of Storage Time and Temperature on Nutritional Content of Fortified Fruitcake" (1987, with Ann Morrill, Doris E. Sherman, Margaret T. Branagan, and Ivy C. Fossum)[15]
  • "A Time-Temperature Model for Sensory Acceptance of a Military Ration" (1987, with Edward W. Ross, Joan Kalick, and Margaret T. Branagan)[16]
  • "Acceptance of a Military Ration After 24-Month Storage" (1985, with Edward W. Ross, Joan Kalick, and Margaret T. Branagan)[17]
  • "Food for U. S Manned Space Flight" (1982, with Malcolm C. Smith Jr.)[18]
  • "Effect of Holding Time and Temperatures on the Quality of Precooked Frozen Meals" (1982, with Betty A. Davis)[19]
  • "Operational Rations Current and Future of the Department of Defense" (1982, with Alice I. Meyer)[20]
  • "Summary of Operational Rations" (1982, with Vera C. Mason and Alice I. Meyer)[21]
  • "Sensory and Nutritional Evaluation of Meat Loaves with and without Granular Soy Concentrate" (1982, with Christine A. Kubik, Ivy C. Fossum, and Bonita M. Atwood)[22]
  • "Nutritionally Fortified Fruitcake (Thermoprocessed, Flexibly Packaged) Developed for Shuttle Flight Use" (1981, with D. E. Sherman, Bonita Atwood, W. Swantak, K. M. Thompson, and Margaret T. Branagan)
  • "Food technology problems related to space feeding" (1970, with Herbert A. Hollender and Malcolm C. Smith Jr.)[23]
  • "Feeding Man in Space" (1970, with Herbert A. Hollender)[24]
  • "Food for Astronauts" (1967, with Herbert A. Hollender and Paul A. Lachance)[12]
  • "Development of Space Foods" (1964)[25]

Personal life

Klicka married William John Klicka in 1946, and had a son.[10] She died in Waterbury, Connecticut in 2007, aged 86 years.

References

  1. ^ Nentl, Jerolyn (September 2, 1970). "Department of Defense Honors Former Kelso Woman for Ration Design Aids". Longview Daily News. p. 11. Retrieved October 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b "Ladies' Day Ceremonies Honor 3 AMC Researchers". Army Research and Development: 30. July 1968.
  3. ^ a b c "Women in Army Science". Army R. D. & A. 13: 38. September 1972.
  4. ^ Jenkins, Don (July 20, 1999). "Kelso Grad was in Charge of Coordinating Apollo 11 Menu". Longview Daily News. p. 1. Retrieved October 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Space Age Nutritionist to Tell About Astronauts' Flight Menu". The Post-Standard. October 18, 1966. p. 14. Retrieved October 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Ready-to-Eat Meal Tested by 588th". Petersburg Progress Index. February 20, 1964. p. 17. Retrieved October 5, 2021 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  7. ^ "Apollo 11 Astronauts Will Dine In Royal Style". Findlay Republican Courier. July 11, 1969. p. 13. Retrieved October 5, 2021 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  8. ^ Hilck, Karin (July 8, 2019). Lady Astronauts, Lady Engineers, and Naked Ladies: Women and the American Space Community during the Cold War, 1960s-1980s. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 103. ISBN 978-3-11-062982-8.
  9. ^ "Happy 50th Birthday to HACCP: Retrospective and Prospective". Food Safety Magazine. December 1, 2009. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d Quartermaster Food and Container Institute for the United States Armed Forces (Fall 1968). "Mrs. Mary V. Klicka Presented Army's Top Civilian Award". Activities Report. 20: 160.
  11. ^ Klicka, Mary V. (May 1970). "New Foods for a New Decade: 1970-1979". School Lunch Journal. 24: 12–18.
  12. ^ a b Klicka, M. V.; Hollender, H. A.; Lachance, P. A. (September 1, 1967). "Foods for astronauts". Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 51 (3): 238–245. ISSN 1878-3570. PMID 4382431.
  13. ^ "Mass. Business Women to Hear Labor Dept.'s Mrs. Koontz". The Boston Globe. October 13, 1969. p. 33. Retrieved October 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Friedl, Karl E.; Klicka, Mary V.; King, Nancy; Marchitelli, Louis J.; Askew, Eldon W. (October 1, 1995). "Effects of Reduced Fat Intake on Serum Lipids in Healthy Young Men and Women at the U.S. Military Academy". Military Medicine. 160 (10): 527–533. doi:10.1093/milmed/160.10.527. ISSN 0026-4075. PMID 7501204.
  15. ^ Morrill, Ann; Klicka, Mary V.; Sherman, Doris E.; Branagan, Margaret T.; Fossum, Ivy (July 1, 1987). Effects of Storage Time and Temperature on Nutritional Content of Fortified Fruitcake (Report). Archived from the original on October 5, 2021.
  16. ^ Ross, Edward W.; Klicka, Mary V.; Kalick, Joan; Branagan, Margaret T. (1987). "A Time-Temperature Model for Sensory Acceptance of a Military Ration". Journal of Food Science. 52 (6): 1712–1717. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.1987.tb05911.x. ISSN 1750-3841.
  17. ^ Ross, Edward W.; Klicka, Mary V.; Kalick, Joan; Branagan, Margaret E. (1985). "Acceptance of a Military Ration After 24-Month Storage". Journal of Food Science. 50 (1): 178–181. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.1985.tb13304.x. ISSN 1750-3841.
  18. ^ Defense Technical Information Center (April 1, 1982). DTIC ADA118316: Food for U.S. Manned Space Flight.
  19. ^ Davis, Betty A.; Klicka, Mary V. (October 19, 1982). Effect of Holding Time and Temperatures on the Quality of Precooked Frozen Meals (Report). Archived from the original on October 5, 2021.
  20. ^ Meyer, A. I.; Klicka, M. V. (September 1, 1982). Operational Rations Current and Future of the Department of Defense (Report). Archived from the original on October 5, 2021.
  21. ^ Mason, Vera C.; Meyer, Alice I.; Klicka, Mary V. (June 1, 1982). Summary of Operational Rations (Report). Archived from the original on October 5, 2021.
  22. ^ Kubik, Christine A.; Fossum, Ivy C.; Atwood, Bonita M.; Klicka, Mary V. (May 1, 1982). Sensory and Nutritional Evaluation of Meat Loaves with and without Granular Soy Concentrate (Report). Archived from the original on October 5, 2021.
  23. ^ Hollender, H A; Klicka, M V; Smith, M C (January 1, 1970). "Food technology problems related to space feeding". Life Sciences and Space Research. 8: 265–279. ISSN 0075-9422. PMID 11826888.
  24. ^ Resources, Working Group on Extraterrestrial (1970). Proceedings of the Seventh Annual Working Group on Extraterrestrial Resources: A Meeting Held at Denver, Colorado, June 17-18, 1969. Scientific and Technical Information Division, Office of Technology Utilization, National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
  25. ^ Klicka, M. V. (May 1964). "Development of Space Foods". Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 44 (5): 358–361. doi:10.1016/S0002-8223(21)19464-7. ISSN 0002-8223. PMID 14143893. S2CID 13343652.